Tobacco substitute containing bagasse



Patented Nov. 20, 1951 OF F ICE ronacco SUBSTITUTE CONTAINING naaassa Jean U. Koree, New York, N. Y.

No Drawing. Application September 10, 1948,

Serial No. 48,769

2 Claims. (01. 131-2) This invention relates in general to tobacco substitutes and in particular to a process for fabricating a physical, chemical and psychological substitute for a natural tobacco product without employing any natural tobacco material.

Heretofore, it has been proposed to take ordinary wood pulp, form a paper sheet therefrom, and saturate such a sheet with an extract of natural tobacco. The extract has been prepared by taking tobacco waste, comprising broken leaf parts and stem parts and subjecting this waste to extraction with steam. Since many of the constituents of tobacco that give it the characteristic aroma, flavor and color are not soluble in water they are not extracted, so that the extract is not a representative composition of the ingredients in the native dried tobacco. Therefore, it is not surprising that ordinary paper saturated with such a partial extract is deficientas a tobacco substitute and has an oil-color, an objectionable taste and insufficient aroma. Further, since such a product has, in fact, certain ingredients of natural tobacco it is classifiable under tarifl regulations as a "tobacco product and is subject to the same high duties and taxes as the whole stud? of the tobacco plant. No economic or social advances are made by the use of such paper-treated products. I

In contrast to such prior attempts at a tobacco substitute the present invention has for its general object the production of a substitute which simulates a natural tobacco product in taste, color, aroma and burning characteristics without employing any part of the tobacco plant.

It is a specific object of the invention to provide a sheet material or granulated product having the physical characteristics of a natural tobacco product without containing any natural tobacco material.

According to the present invention, there is provided a tobacco substitute comprising fibres derived from bagasse, preferably a sugar-cane bagasse, carrying a mixture of chemical ingredients which together simulate the taste, aroma and burning characteristics of natural tobacco, and preferably, in addition simulating the color and physical appearance of a natural tobacco product.

It is characteristic of the present invention that the fibrous base of the tobacco substitute is derived from bagasse because bagasse is unique in combining the physical and chemical properties required for the present product and because it has numerous advantages over other fibrous ma terials. Sugar-cane bagasse is available in large quantities at a very reasonable price as compared with such fibres as wood pulp, cotton, linen, ramie, sisal, and other similar fibres. Further, bagasse has a chemical composition, in respect of such non-volatile ingredients as cellulose, gums, fats and waxes which is very close to the proportion of these ingredients in the dried tobacco plant. For

2 this reason, when bagasse is formed into a sheet having a thickness of about 0.005 of an inch (the average thickness of a dried tobacco leaf) it will have substantially the same burning characteristics of the dried tobacco leaf. In view of these facts, bagasse as obtained from the sugar industry forms an ideal base for the tobacco substitute of the present invention.

Preparing the fibrous base In preparing the fibrous base of the present product the sugar-cane bagasse is removed from the sugar refinery immediately after pressing and extracting the cane Juice therefrom. The moist bagasse is then processed, preferably, as follows:

Washing and disintegrating-These steps may be carried out in any order. If the sugar canes have not been cut or disintegrated by the milling they are preferably first disintegrated by beating, cutting, pressing or mechanical attrition to break down the hard outer wall of the stems and to expose the fibres. When the milling has involved substantial crushing and cutting, the bagasse is first washed and then disintegrated. Washing is carried out by spraying and agitation in the presence of water to remove the excess juices and water solubles. Finally the excess water is removed by pressing or squeezing the washed fibres through the use of pressure rolls.

Fibre separation-Normal sugar-cane bagasse comprises about equal amounts of very long, smooth fibres in the outer casing of the stalk and pith or parenchyma in the center of the stem. Since digesting or pulping has a tendency to at tack the soft pith fibres more rapidly than the long fibres it is desirable, but not essential, to separate these parts. This may be accomplished, for example, by treating the disintegrated and washed bagasse with 9% of sodium hydroxide or other alkali (based on the dry weight of the bagasse) for about 20 minutes at to C., the bagasse being suspended in the aqueous solution (about 15 parts by weight on weight of the solution). This softens the gums and waxes and allows the pith and long fibres to separate. The hot slurry is passed over a rotatory screen, whereupon the pith and water-solubles pass through the screen and the long fibres are retained. Shredding or beating the slurry is also beneficial in promoting separa-- tion before screening.

Digesting the long fibre material-Although the long-fibres may be washed and passed directly to a paper beater for paper-making without digesting, the pulping is better if a short digestion is carriedout. Therefore, for example, the long fibre material retained by the screen is pressed to a controlled water content, fed into a conventional wood pulp digester and digested with dilute sodium hydroxide or sodium sulfide for about 2 hoursat 100 C., using about 10% of 3 the chemical on the dry weight of the pulp. After digesting, the long fibres are freely separable by beating. The digested material is washed and then fed to the paper-beater.

Beating.If desired, the short pith fibres may now be added with the long fibres to the paper beater. The beating cycle should be short to avoid hydration of the fibres, since hydration is not essential. In the beater the fibres are prepared for sheeting. To the paper furnish thus produced there may be added the customary rosin size as used in the manufacture of ordinary paper from wood pulp.

Sheeting.The long fibres and/or the short pith fibres may be formed into a paper sheet by the use of conventional paper making machines, such as the Fourdrinier or cylinder machines. Since the white water from the paper screen will contain a substantial quantity of the short pith fibres it is preferably recirculated to the size box, and reused. The sheets are dried on heated cans in the usual manner. The amount of furnish fed to the screen and the pressure of the couch rolls is so adjusted that the final dried sheet has a thickness of from about .004 to .005 of an inch, which is the range of thicknessof the native dried tobacco leaf.

Although, the sheet can be made from bagasse without separation of the long from the short fibres, such separation is a great advantage in the present invention since it permits the formation of a sheet of controlled burning characteristics. The burning rate is a function of porosity, density, moisture content and organic material. It is possible to control readily the density, moisture content and organic materials in subsequent processing. If these last mentioned factors are maintained constant the porosity can be varied and controlled by varying the proportion of short pith fibres to long fibres. The long fibres make the sheet porous and strong, while the short fibres serve as fillers, decreasing the porosity and increasing the density. In the now preferred embodiment the ratio of short to long fibres is from 1 to 3 to l to 1, an example being 25% by weight of short fibre material to 75% of long fibres. Bagasse, unlike other commercially available fibrous material, is unique in providing two distinct types of fibres, thus providing means for producing a sheet of controlled burning rate.

Physical simulation of tobacco leaf.-When the product is to be used as a cigar binder or wrapper leaf, it is preferred to pass the sheet material from the paper machine through heated embossing rollers and emboss the sheet with the representation of a natural tobacco leaf. This can be done by photographing selected leaves and engraving the rollers with such designs, so that the paper will be given the characteristic stem, veining and surface irregularities of a natural leaf. Preferably, the design covers the entire width and length of the sheet so that it may be cut into suitable pieces without waste.

,Composz'tion for imparting taste, aroma and color a To simulate the taste, aroma and color of a natural tobacco product, the fibres derived from bagasse are combined with certain classes of substances to impart these characteristics.

The classes of substances-The composition comprises the following classes of substances:

A sweetening agent, comprising the sugars as a class, of which the following are examples: dextrose, sucrose, and lactose.

An organic acid, comprising the aliphatic hydroxy acids as a class, of which the following are examples: citric acid, maleic acid, and tartaric acid.

An organic nitrogen compound, comprising the amino acids as a class, such for example as aminoacetic acid, aminopropionic acid, and aminosuccinamic acid.

An organic hygroscopic agent, comprising glycol, trimethylene glycol, glycerol and other allphatic polyhydric alcohols containing less than seven hydroxyl groups, as a class.

A water-soluble gum, comprising natural ester gums as a class, such for example as gum elemi, gum arabic and gum tragacanth.

A water-soluble or emulsifiable essential oil, as a class, such for example as the terpenes, of which may be named bornylene, pinene, and terpinene.

An organic water-soluble coloring matter, such for example as nicotine, tannin and caramel.

Some of the above mentioned classes of substances contribute to taste, aroma or color and some have a-dual function but it has been found that the combination of all these classes impart to the fibrous base the characteristics of natural cured tobacco. The compounds of the classes names are all soluble in water when combined, because, while the essential oils are not verysolu ble in water, the gums assist in maintaining them in the composition. Therefore, the combination is applied in aqueous solution inthe preferred embodiment.

By way of illustration but not by way of limiting the invention, the following examples will be given of the general range and specific example of proportions of the composition:

Sugar from 5 to 15% by weight, example, sucrose,

Organic acid, 2 to 5%, e. g. citric acid, 3%

Amino acid, 2 to 5%, e. g. glycine, 3%

Hygroscopic, 3 to 10%, e. g. diethylene glycol, 5%

Gum, 5 to 10%, e. g. gum arabic, 7%

Oil, 0.5 to 2%, e. g. terpinene. 1%

Coloring. 1 to 3, e. g. nicotine, 2%

Water to make 100 parts.

Applying the composition-The aqueous composition may be applied to the fibres while the fibres are on the screen of the paper machine before the paper is closed; or by spraying it on the sheet during or after drying; or by tub sizing the sheet and then drying it again, at a tempera.-

' ture insuificient to evaporate any of the components of the composition, for example, 75 C.

It is to be understood that the proportions may be varied having regard for the takeup of the ingredients by the dry fibres. The proportions given above are those desired in the final product after the evaporation of the water used as a solvent. If desired, the composition can be divided into two parts: the alcohol soluble components and the water-soluble components. Thus the nicotine, essential oil and tannin can be applied from solution in alcohol and the remaining ingredients from solution in water. Optional ingredients may be added such as antiseptic agents, flavoring extracts such as vanilla, honey and licorice.

It is to be understood that the fibrous base can be made by an entirely dry process of felting, for example, by cutting the bagasse, shredding, separating the fibres and then blowing the short and long fibres into an air stream and sucking the mixture of fibres against a moving porous surface to form a fibrous layer, and finally pressing the layer and binding it by use of the aqueous composition above described. Further, when making it by a wet process, the short pith fibres are added to the long fibres near the end of the beater cycle. Thus the invention is not limited to the use of a water-laid paper like sheet, and the expression fibrous sheet material as used in the claims is intended to cover the sheet made by a wet or dry felting process.

Types of tobacco substitutes The invention contemplates that the fibrous sheet material impregnated with the ingredients above described can be used in formation of any tobacco like product, such as for example, cigarettes, cigars, granulated smoking pipe tobacco and snuff. When the product is to be used in making cigars, the sheet material can be used as the filler leaf and also as the binder or wrapper leaf. Since the sheet material has substantially the same thickness as a natural tobacco leaf, the physical appearance and color, it is admirably suited for the production of cigars. Since the sheet material can be supplied in rolls it can be used in high-speed cigar-making machinery. Further when granulated or shredded it can be used for pipe or cigarette tobacco.

In some cases, the present product can be mixed with natural tobacco and in this event it will be incapable of detection by sight or taste. Further, in the making of cigars the present product can be used as the filler leaf and a natural cured tobacco leaf can be used on the outside as the wrapper. Alternatively, the outer leaf can be formed of this sheet material and the filler of natural tobacco. The invention is not to be limited except by the scope oi! the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A substitute for tobacco consisting of a sheeted product containing no natural tobacco and consisting of bagasse and agents which impart to the product the flavor, aroma and appearance of natural tobacco, said agents including a sugar, an aliphatic hydroxy acid, an amino acid, a hygroscopic aliphatic polyhydric alcohol, a natural water-soluble ester gum, an essential oil and an organic water-soluble coloring matter, the bagasse being present in the product in an amount greater than said agents and in the form of a mixture containing from about 25% to by weight of relatively short fibres and from about 50% to by weight of relatively long fibres, said product having substantially the same burning characteristics as dried natural tobacco.

2. A substitute for tobacco consisting of a sheeted product containing no natural tobacco and consisting of bagasse and agents which impart to the product the flavor, aroma and appearance of natural tobacco, said agents including a sugar, an aliphatic hydroxy acid, an amino acid, a peetate, a water-soluble gum, nicotine and an essential oil, said agents being equal in amount to approximately 40% by weight of the product, the bagasse being present in the product in an amount greater than said agents and in the form of a mixture containing from about 25% to 50% by weight of relatively short fibres and from about 50% to 75% by weight of relatively long fibres, said product having substantially the same burning characteristics as dried natural tobacco.

JEAN U. KOREE.

REFERENCES crran The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 328,300 De Susini Oct. 13, 1885 1,334,752 Hagino Mar. 23, 1920 1,352,421 Alsina et a1 Sept. 14, 1920 1,818,897 Kumagawa Aug. 11, 1931 1,961,866 Rocker June 5, 1934 1,968,403 Kinker July 31, 1934 1,983,530 Brandenberger... Dec. 11, 1934 2,171,986 Poetschke Sept. 5, 1939 2,331,830 Garber Oct. 12, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 325,125 Great Britain Feb. 13, 1930 

1. A SUBSTITUTE FOR TOBACCO CONSISTING OF A SHEETED PRODUCT CONTAINING NO NATURAL TOBACCO AND CONSISTING OF BAGASSE AND AGENTS WHICH IMPART TO THE PRODUCT THE FLAVOR, AROMA AND APPEARANCE OF NATURAL TOBACCO, SAID AGENTS INCLUDING A SUGAR, AN ALIPHATIC HYDROXY ACID, AN AMINO ACID, A HYGROSCOPIC ALIPHATIC POLYHYDRIC ALCOHOL, A NATURAL WATER-SOLUBLE ESTER GUM, AN ESSENTIAL OIL AND AN ORGANIC WATER-SOLUBLE COLORING MATTER, THE BAGASSEE BEING PRESENT IN THE PRODUCT IN AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN SAID AGENTS AND IN THE FORM OF A MIXTURE CONTAINING FROM ABOUT 25% TO 50% BY WEIGHT OF RELATIVELY SHORT FIBERS AND FROM ABOUT 50% TO 75% BY WEIGHT OF RELATIVELY LONG FIBRES, SAID PRODUCT HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME BURNING CHARACTERISTICS AS DRIED NATURAL TOBACCO. 